2006-09-09

Ben Glaetzer is some kind of wine-making demon. He does very fine work for the Heartland label, runs a contract operation which produces hundreds of different wines, and yet he still has time to produce some amazing bottles under his own name. I've mentioned the Glaetzer Bishop before, and have greatly enjoyed the Wallace and the Glaetzer Shiraz. Now I've had a sniff at the Amon-Ra Shiraz (02004, cork), and by golly it's mighty stuff.

We weren't even going to open the bottle, but Smiley's finger accidently pressed the enter key and I went into a sort of de-corking trance, which only ended when I smelt something which made me think of nothing so much as a very youthful Penfold's Grange, all vanilla custard and dark chocolate. But then it evolved through a whole series of tasty treats: fruity blackcurrants, sweet oakiness, meaty savoury notes, smoke and then into more chocolate and a great walloping punnet of blackcurranty juiciness. When I finally stopped pleasuring my nose and tasted the stuff, I found the familiar Glaetzer ultra-smooth tannins, mellower than a stoner Gong fan at a Winter Solstice celebration gig, full of sweet dark fruit and delicate smoky notes, all backed up by a full-bodied deeply satisfying texture.

Big Bad Bob rated the '03 vintage Amon-Ra so highly as to cause an unseemly ruckus amongst his followers, yea unto the point of price hikes, hoarding, and general snapping up of all available stock before a reasonable man might gather his wits enough to find a bottle. I didn't taste the '03, but if it's better than this, I may have to do a deal with Anubis, or someone equally shady, to obtain some (Sorry. I've been reading Goethe. It warps a person. I'd never sell my soul for a mere bottle of wine. Honest). Meanwhile, if I were you, I'd grab some of this before it vanishes. It's a genuine five-pointer. Glaetzer Amon-Ra Shiraz '04: 5 (= Good Lord! Astonishing!).